In this 65 page novella by the famed Gillian Flynn, a bogue fortune teller hooker is out for the money when she accepts Susan Burke's proposal to clear her house of its demonic feelings. The main character, who is unnamed throughout the entire story, finds herself in for much more than she bargained for with the seemingly haunted house and the deranged stepson. There is quite a twist at the end of the story, surprise, surprise Flynn. I am still pondering the end, trying to decide what I believe for myself. Flynn has once again outdone herself and presented her readers with yet another mind-bending narrative that keeps you guessing in only 65 pages. You can finish this book in under an hour and I highly recommend you do so! Maybe don't make the mistake I did in reading this while you're home alone... I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion has in no way been compromised by this fact.
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Deciding to try something new, I started reading Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods. I am not usually a fan of nonfiction or journalism which this book combines into a captivating new writing and retelling style. I was most interested in this book because I live in Western North Carolina, where the Appalachian Trail travels through the area. I have heard many people speak of hiking the trail and parts of the trail on weekends and vacations. Bryson sheads an intimate light on the journey of hiking the trail that I found interesting and refreshing. The book isn't just a journal of facts, it reads just like a novel. Even if this book wasn't a true story, it would still be a great piece of fiction. Bryson is a terrific writer and makes the travel intriguing and the characters they meet along the way feel real. I read the movie-tie in cover version, as pictured, and I just love this cover way more than the original. I would love to see the film after reading this. I hope it exceeds my expectations, but it might be difficult to expect that considering Bryson's writing style was really what made the book. I hope the filmmakers can translate Bryson's writing style according. I definitely recommend this book to those interesting in nature and travel, but also those who love to focus on character in fiction. Bryson makes the people he meets along the way come to life. Great read and I will surely recommend it to others! Learn to self-publish with this full-color informational book with a mecha of publishing tidbit gold! Not only do Love and Withers cover the complete timeline of selling your comics, but they also give tips on how to create one! Nearly every page features a full color illustration and most pages feature "pro-tips." These tips are tidbits of insider information from self-published comic creators and most even own their own business! When I ordered this book, I was not expecting a 200+ page book packed wall to wall with information. However, that is what I received. While the retail value on this book is $24.99, you can get it on Amazon for less than $15. Absolutely worth the value! I received a complimentary copy of this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review. My opinion has in no way been biased. What a sweet little book this will be, my naivety thought, glancing at the cover of "Bittersweet" by Miranda Beverly-Whittemore and ordering the novel without reading the description, as I often do. This one will give me a break from the intense novels I have been reading lately, I thought. As I began reading this tame coming of age story, I was pleased. Mabel, finding herself befriending her rich college roommate, eventually ends up joining Ev on her family’s place on a lake in Vermont. What a light read that I could enjoy and finish and forget about. Then the twists began happening. Ev’s family’s true story and history begins to be unveiled and what follows is one story you won’t want to miss. There’s probably no way to even explain any other aspect of this novel without spoiling something! You just have to read it for yourself! The only problem I have with this novel is that the book seems to be mostly character oriented even though the plot has potential to take over. My personal preference is for the plot to dominate and wrap me up in its twists and turns. This plot seemed to be put on the back burner just to compliment the characters. With a plot like this, I prefer it to dominate. Overall, great read that you can easily finish in one sitting on your porch, on the beach, anywhere with your feet propped up and your mind relaxing. The story of Lorraine's search for the truth about the mysterious suicides of her sister's town amongst a cast of jumbled, random characters failed to meet my expectations. While Hayes' first novel "Until You're Mine" was worth the read, the downfalls of her first novel took precedence in her second. "What You Left Behind" has too many storylines, too many mysteries, and too many unnecessary details. While I may have felt pushing through those problems was worth it in "Until You're Mine," in no way do I recommend dealing with those issues to finish this novel. Not only is the twist ending less satisfying, but it is also too clean. "What You Left Behind" just seems to be Hayes trying to write the exact same novel. Bonus: you even get one of the same characters (Lorraine). It seems that Hayes has a formula for her thrillers and it will not work past the first time she uses it. 1.5 out of 5 Please don't even borrow this book from your local library. I received a copy of this novel from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review. My opinion was not biased in any way. Samantha Hayes' "Until You're Mine" is the ultimate journey of a thriller. Claudia is a pregnant housewife to a military man, always travelling. Her newly hired nanny, Zoe, seems strange when a series of murders involving pregnant women begin to surface. We follow the rise of incriminating evidence against Zoe throughout and end the novel at a very twisty turn. I will not reveal this twist ending but boy! The 300 page journey is worth the 20 page resolution to the mystery. I enjoyed the build-up while at points I wondered where the plot would take me. However, by the end I felt resolved. Shocked, but resolved. I recommend this novel to any thriller fans, however I will warn about the semi-graphic nature of the murders of pregnant women in the book. Great read, 8 out of 10 I received a copy of this novel for free in return for an honest review. My opinion has in no way been biased. In this sequel to "Shovel Ready," Spademan embarks on yet another hit gone wrong. Getting too invested in the situation again, Spademan uncovers secret after secret, leaving him unable to decide who to trust. To read this novel, you should definitely have already read "Shovel Ready." This sequel has recurring characters that you need to know about already. There is no catching up like some other novels have in the writing. Yay for the return of Persephone and the parental feelings from Spademan! Sternbergh's writing style is by far my favorite of all time. It even rises above McCarthy. That's just how good it is. No matter my preferences towards the writing style, the plot of this sequel was kind of blurry, if you will. While the first novel was easily followed and clear, this sequel was confusing at times. So is this happening or is this person the bad guy? After finishing the book, I had to stop and piece everything together even though a character tells us the whole story. I just believe that the storyline needed to be more clearly explained. While I was entertained by this sequel, it definitely did not measure up to "Shovel Ready." If Sternbergh is writing a third Spademan novel (which this novel too easily sets up at the end), it needs to be handfuls better than this one. With its faults, I still give it an 8 out of 10 for entertainment value and writing style. A complimentary copy of this novel was provided to me by Blogging for Books in an exchange for an honest review. My opinions have not been influenced in any way. Mark Watney: stranded on Mars after getting impaled by a rod. What a stroke of bad luck. Watney, however, with his botany and engineering skills overcomes just about any problem you could of. Read this real-science thriller to find out what happens in the end to Watney. As compelling as real-science science fiction thriller sounds, it let down quite a bit. The real science seemed to overload the story. Yes, I understand that having the story be scientifically accurate was very important for Weir, as he is an engineer. Sometimes I was just bored with the page after page of science-y blah blah that I was reading. At points, I was begging Weir to move forward and give me some action! That being said, this book is worth reading. The plot is interesting and you will be rooting for Watney every second of the journey. The second half of the novel was much better than the first. Without spoilers, I did feel like the ending was sort of a crap-out. Sure, it was a resolution, but it wasn't really a resolution. 7 out of 10, just for the anticipatory storytelling. Endnote: This book is being made into a film starring Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, and Kate Mara among others. I am actually excited about this development. I believe the events that take place in the book will be much clearer and interesting in a visual manner rather than reading the occurances. Film comes to theaters in November of this year! I received a complimentary copy of this novel from Blogging for Books in return for an honest, unbiased review. Receiving this novel for free had no effect on my opinions of the book or my review. |
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November 2016
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